Santander wrote:You can bid on the historic Orange Garden neon sign on April 30th according to Donley Auctions:
https://www.donleyauctions.com
(Dinkel's and Chicago Joe's also, apparently).
Santander wrote:You can bid on the historic Orange Garden neon sign on April 30th according to Donley Auctions:
https://www.donleyauctions.com
(Dinkel's and Chicago Joe's also, apparently).
Though Orange Garden, 1942 W. Irving Park Rd., remains open for business, its manager said they’re looking into selling next year because the owner wants to retire and the sign hasn’t been working since the months before the pandemic in 2020.
“We don’t want the sign to go to waste,” said the manager, who said he did not want his name used because he did not want the publicity. “So we decided to sell it in the auction before we sell this place to a company that trashes it.”
Dave148 wrote:Iconic neon sign at Orange Garden restaurant winds up in surprising hands after auction.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/c ... story.html
Chicago Tribune wrote:The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan used to joke to his wife, Chloe Mendel, that if she ever wanted to buy him a present, it should be the neon sign reading “Chop Suey” in bold letters outside Orange Garden restaurant on a bustling stretch of Irving Park Road in the North Center neighborhood.
“It was like, ‘Of course you would ask for something I could never deliver,” Mendel said Thursday.
But then, suddenly, she could.
...
In a flurry of bidding that Mendel said didn’t seem to last even five minutes, she came out on top. Her winning bid: $17,000. Before speaking with the Chicago Tribune, the buyer had been anonymous.
...
The sign will be removed from Orange Garden, 1942 W. Irving Park Road, Sunday and taken to Madame ZuZu’s, Corgan and Mendel’s vegan cafe, tea shop and performance venue in Highland Park. The shop also sells used records from Corgan’s collection.
The sign hasn’t been lit since 2020, but Mendel said it will be restored and displayed at Madame ZuZu’s, likely inside the shop.
...
An Orange Garden manager told the Tribune the restaurant will likely close next year as the owner prepares to retire. The sign, double-sided and made of porcelain, is believed to have hung outside the restaurant since 1932.
“We don’t want the sign to go to waste,” the manager told the Tribune. “So we decided to sell it in the auction before we sell this place to a company that trashes it.”
...
ronnie_suburban wrote:Dave148 wrote:Iconic neon sign at Orange Garden restaurant winds up in surprising hands after auction.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/c ... story.html
Hey Dave,
Would you please post an excerpt for those of us who don't pay for Trib access?
Thanks,
=R=
JoelF wrote:Chicago Tribune wrote:The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan used to joke to his wife, Chloe Mendel, that if she ever wanted to buy him a present, it should be the neon sign reading “Chop Suey” in bold letters outside Orange Garden restaurant on a bustling stretch of Irving Park Road in the North Center neighborhood.
“It was like, ‘Of course you would ask for something I could never deliver,” Mendel said Thursday.
But then, suddenly, she could.
...
In a flurry of bidding that Mendel said didn’t seem to last even five minutes, she came out on top. Her winning bid: $17,000. Before speaking with the Chicago Tribune, the buyer had been anonymous.
...
The sign will be removed from Orange Garden, 1942 W. Irving Park Road, Sunday and taken to Madame ZuZu’s, Corgan and Mendel’s vegan cafe, tea shop and performance venue in Highland Park. The shop also sells used records from Corgan’s collection.
The sign hasn’t been lit since 2020, but Mendel said it will be restored and displayed at Madame ZuZu’s, likely inside the shop.
...
An Orange Garden manager told the Tribune the restaurant will likely close next year as the owner prepares to retire. The sign, double-sided and made of porcelain, is believed to have hung outside the restaurant since 1932.
“We don’t want the sign to go to waste,” the manager told the Tribune. “So we decided to sell it in the auction before we sell this place to a company that trashes it.”
...
Nice that it'll still be available for the public to see.
JoelF wrote:I had just opened the article when I saw Ronnie's request, it was easy enough to edit down.
ronnie_suburban wrote:Hey Dave,
Would you please post an excerpt for those of us who don't pay for Trib access?
Thanks,
=R=
lougord99 wrote:ronnie_suburban wrote:Hey Dave,
Would you please post an excerpt for those of us who don't pay for Trib access?
Thanks,
=R=
I see that you have joined me in believing that Alden does not deserve our money.
I second that motion.ronnie_suburban wrote:Hey Dave,
Would you please post an excerpt for those of us who don't pay for Trib access?
Thanks,
=R=
lougord99 wrote:I see that you have joined me in believing that Alden does not deserve our money.
Katie wrote:ronnie_suburban wrote:Dave148 wrote:Hey Dave,
Would you please post an excerpt for those of us who don't pay for Trib access?
Thanks,
=R=
I second that motion.
Yes, I can open my library's website, go to the Research page, scroll down to Chicago Tribune archives, and do a keyword search for Orange Garden to get to this article. But maybe even one sentence of context here would help me decide if that was worth the trouble.
Katie wrote:Thanks from me too, Joel.
I am glad to see the sign will move to Madame Zuzu's, which I did not know had moved from Ravinia to downtown Highland Park, also good info.
Orange Garden, Chicago’s oldest Chinese restaurant, has a long history, with a gangster legend, an iconic neon sign and a family hoping to preserve it
Orange Garden, the oldest Chinese restaurant in Chicago, which recently sold its iconic neon sign, and was reportedly selling next year, may not be for sale after all.
“I don’t want to sell,” said owner Hui Ruan. He spoke in Cantonese, seated in a booth at the historic dining room in the North Center neighborhood. “I’m 72 years old this year. Before, I didn’t want to work anymore, because of my age, and because I’m tired. But now my kids say they really like this restaurant, so I can’t bear to sell it.”
The kids, an adult son and daughter, now manage the business, perhaps best known for Chinese American classics including egg foo young and Chicago-style peanut butter egg rolls.